


The Forgotten Shifter

by Adegolas



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, shapeshifter AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-06 02:23:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13401441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adegolas/pseuds/Adegolas
Summary: A select few of the crew on the Finaliser are shapeshifters and every so often shapeshifters are forced to change into their animal form. Most of the higher up officers take supplements to stop the transformation, but circumstances force Hux to go without them. Thus, he is forced to prowl around the Finaliser in his shifted form, but it has been decades since Hux last shifted, he has to acclimatise to his long forgotten animal side. Those onboard the Finaliser who shift, nearly all shift into large predators, but Hux is a small ginger housecat and Ren happens to take a liking to the small cat.





	1. Seeing With New Eyes

As the starkiller base was crumbling and exploding beneath him, the last thing Hux thought about was the loss of his suppressants. It didn't even register until later that night when he went to take them. He groaned as he let his head thump against the mirror in his refresher. That was the last thing he needed. They always said things happened in threes. First, Ren let the scavenger girl escape, then the destruction of the starkiller base and now his suppressants were gone. His day couldn't possibly get any worse. He'd have to ask one of the other shifters if he could borrow some of their suppressants. One night without them wouldn't hurt, or so he hoped. He thought nothing of it again as he got ready for bed. He slipped beneath the covers and lay on his side as he awaited sleep to claim him. 

Hux groaned as he turned over in his bed. His limbs were heavy and his head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool. He groaned again as the realisation hit him. He was at the beginning stages of shifting. He buried his face into the pillow below him and sighed heavily. It was more of a handycap than it was useful. He should have asked for the suppressants yesterday whilst he had the chance. Shifting into his other form would waste a lot of time, each shift could last anything from a couple of days to a week. And since he had been taking suppressants for the last twenty-odd years, then the build up would be greater thus his shift would last longer than it was supposed to. Much longer. 

There was no way he would be able to work on the bridge in this condition. He'd have to tell someone, someone he could trust. He rolled over and dazedly scrabbled around for his comm on his bedside cabinet. Once he had it firmly in his hand, he contacted the only person he was close to and trusted. 

He couldn't stop the smile that crept across his face at the voice that answered, 'General. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?' 

'My supressants were on the starkiller base, so -' 

'Let me guess, your shift is starting? Why didn't you have suppressants in your quarters as a backup'. 

'I dont know. I guess I thought nothing would happen to starkiller. Anyway, I won't be on the bridge for the foreseeable future. I need someone to keep an eye on Ren, make sure he doesn't tear my ship apart'. He glowered at the chuckle he earned from his remark. 'I don't know what you find so funny Captain, he acts like an overgrown child having a tantrum. It's unbecoming of any officer in the First Order and especially onboard my ship'. 

'I'm not disagreeing Hux, but you certainly have a way with your words. I'll keep an eye on Ren and the other officers, stop worrying about that and worry about your own problems'. Before he could retort back with a snarky comment, she ended the call. 

From past experiences, he knew he had enough time to have a quick shower before his shift started. He threw the covers aside and gingerly got out of bed, regretting the action immediately as he swayed on his feet. He stumbled into the steel wall to his left as he overbalanced. He shuffled along the wall towards the refresher, using his left hand to aide him. 

He slumped against the shower wall and grappled around blindly for the shower controls. Once the shower was at the right temperature, he closed his eyes and tipped his head back, allowing the water to cascade down his face and chest. He sighed with satisfaction as the water cleaned away the dirt and sweat from his sticky, overheated body. 

The journey back to his bed was worse. He had to clutch onto the wall as he shuffled forwards in a hunched position. The pain was all over his body, even reaching as far as his extremities. He forgot how painful a forced shift could be. He continued awkwardly shuffling towards the bed until he finally reached it and all but collapsed onto it. 

He snarled as his whole body felt like it was on fire. His limbs burned as they snapped and shortened and his head exploded with pain as it shrunk and reshaped. He let out a garbled gasp as his body reformed and finished shifting. He lay in the centre of his bed as his now shrunken body quivered in pain and distress. He was exhausted from the shift and instead of getting back up, he just lay on the bed and let his mind slip into unconsciousness. 

Hux blinked his eyes open slowly and grumbled about the ache behind his eyes. He paused at the mewing sound that he made instead. He peered down at his body before he let his head fall back onto the bed. The memories of the night before resurfaced as he took in his temporary appearance. He had shifted. He was officially a cat for the foreseeable future. He didn't even have the satisfaction of being a big cat like a lion or a leopard. No, he was a small, ginger housecat. He mewed his complaint to the empty room.

It had been decades since he had last shifted, circumstances making it so. His father had always believed that shapeshifters were far more superior to humans, but he soon changed his mind about that once he saw what his only son changed into. Hux didn't think his father had had a housecat in mind when he thought about fierce shifters. Soon after the incident, Hux's father's opinion changed and he stated that 'shifting was a weakness and that it would be best if he started taking suppressants if he wanted to get anywhere in life'. So, trying to please his father and show him that he was serious about his future career, he took the suppressants without complaint, and he has never been without them since. Up until now of course. 

To try and keep his mind off the travesty that his life was slowly becoming, he decided to explore around the ship. It wasn't like anyone would recognise that the small ginger kitten was in fact General Hux. And as an added bonus, it was a sure way of keeping his mind and body occupied.

With his mind made up, he leapt off the bed with a cat-like grace and proceeded towards the door that would lead out into the corridor. Getting out of the room proved to be a bit more difficult than he originally thought, but he managed it by jumping up onto the plush leather sofa that was positioned just in front of the button that would open the door and leaping from the sofa into the button. He landed on his rear with a crash, his head spinning from where it had made contact with the steel wall. It hadn't been one of his best ideas. But it had done the job. The door to his quarters was now open. He walked out of his room, tail held high with pride.

Even though he was in his cat form, he was still pleased to see that the corridor was deserted. It seemed that everyone was where they were supposed to be, except himself. His good mood vanished as his thoughts veered to what he would be doing now if he had still been in his human form. He guessed he would have been on the bridge overseeing the working order of the crew. His mood soured even more and his hackles rose as he thought about Ren commanding his crew on the bridge. Over his dead body.

With a goal in mind, Hux set off down the corridor towards the lifts and after several false starts, was on his way up towards the bridge. It was only when he was stepping out of the lift that he realised that a ginger cat walking onto the bridge might raise a few eyebrows. But, it was something he was going to have to deal with as he was not going to let Ren parade around on his ship like he owned the place. Even though Captain Phasma had promised to keep the Knight in line, he knew from experience that it was always best to do things yourself to ensure you get the results you want.

He slipped through the doorway unseen and leapt up onto one of the computer terminals on the far wall facing the wide expansion of windows. He sat on the closest terminal and watched as his officers flitted around the room and worked diligently. All in all, it looked like a usual day on the bridge, the only difference being he was a cat and not a human. He noticed that even though to all appearances he wasn't on the bridge, his officers were exceptionally trained to just get on with their work. He nodded his small furred head in satisfaction. This was how a ship was meant to be run.  

The only indication to show that Ren had arrived was the heavy uncoordinated stomping of his boots against the steel floor. Hux hissed in contempt. The man was an idiot and a child. 

Ren snapped his masked head in his direction, like as if he had heard what he was thinking, but paused as his eyes met with those of a cat. He continued to stare at the ginger feline until Captain Phasma approached him from behind. The other man slowly turned to face her as she cleared her throat to catch his attention. Hux took this opportunity to vacate the room and continue his exploring elsewhere.

The first room he came to was the command room, but there was no-one in there so there was no point in stopping to investigate, so he continued to the next couple of rooms with the same result. He decided to have a quick snoop around in the training room before he would go back to his quarters for the rest of the day. 

Except that there was a slight flaw in his plan. He had no way to get into his room. There was no point in jumping continuously as he just could not reach the keypad. His tail drooped and swayed between his legs in frustration before he sat down outside the door. He'd have to think of something fast before the hoards of officers materialise in the corridor. 

He finally gave up staring at the door, knowing it was a pointless endeavour, and headed back towards the training room. He had spied a rather large stack of clean towels resting inside a cabinet in the communal shower room when he had been exploring earlier. If the rooms were still empty, he would be able to take one or two of the towels and make a nest in the corner of the training room. 

As it so happened, the rooms were indeed empty, so he raced across the room and slipped through the door to the shower room. He craned his head back as he stared up at the stack of towels resting inside the cabinet. It was going to be a lot harder than he had originally thought. He was going to have to scale up the cabinet and somehow magically pull out a couple of towels whilst he was precariously hanging from the cabinet. Simple. He wriggled his backside as he prepared himself before he raced up the side of the cabinet, his claws sinking into the soft wood to keep himself from slipping. He took deep breaths as he clung onto the cabinet and prepared himself to commence the final stage. Now was the tricky part. He had to pull out a couple of towels from his awkward positioning. He stretched a paw across the space and swiped it onto a towel. He continued with this method a couple more times before a towel slipped onto the floor. He weighed up the option on whether he should try to get another towel but decided that one would be enough. He slithered halfway down the cabinet before he leapt onto the towel. He trotted to the edge of the towel and picked up the corner of it with his mouth before he started to drag it from the shower room back into the training room. He paused as he calculated which corner was best to put it in. He dropped it in the far right corner, the furthest away from the door that led out into the corridor. He poked and prodded the towel into a satisfactory position with his nose and paws before he crawled beneath it and wriggled his body around until he was comfortable.

An indeterminate amount of hours had passed when he was abruptly woken up by a hand stroking his towel-covered stomach. He scrambled to get out of the folds of the towel he had disappeared into, but all he managed to do was pop his head out of the soft fabric. He peered up at the person who dare awaken him from his nap. He scowled as he came face to face with Ren. It was like as if the man knew it was him and was haunting him. 

Hux wriggled his way free from his confines, but before he could get far, he was picked up by a large hand wrapping itself around his middle. He hissed and scratched as he wriggled furiously to escape the hand, but it remained clamped around his midsection. He only gave up struggling when Ren cuddled him against the man's much larger, and admittedly warmer, chest. 

Hux grumbled as Ren stood up to his full height and made his way out of the training room. He watched in trepidation as Ren twisted and turned down different corridors, weaving his way down them like they were rabbit burrows. If he wasn't so used to the layout of the ship, he was sure he would have become dizzy with the amount of different turns they were taking. And it was with his knowledge of the ship that he knew where Ren was heading. Ren's quarters.

He watched as Ren typed into his keypad before the door to his quarters opened. He blinked in surprise at the tastefully but sparsely decorated room. He was jolted from his thoughts when he was placed down onto the centre of the sofa that was situated in the middle of the living area. He sat and (watched) as Ren pottered around, tidying up after himself and taking off his black robes. Hux was suprised when Ren didn't just drop his clothing onto the floor and leave it there until he next needed them. 

Whilst Ren was busy with putting his robes away, Hux took it upon himself to explore the rooms that made up Ren's quarters. His expedition took him to the kitchenette, bedroom, refresher and closet. 

He eyed the bed that took up most of the bedroom before he decided to throw himself onto it. He yawned and stretched on the bed, surprised at the softness beneath his paws. He rolled onto his back and wriggled furiously at the niggling itch that had been annoying him for several minutes now.

He was interrupted when Ren leant against the doorway and chuckled, actually chuckled, at his antics. He stopped what he was doing and slowly rose up into a sitting position. He warily eyed the force user as the man pushed himself off the doorframe and edged into the room. It was at that point that Hux noticed that Ren wasn't wearing his mask. If he had been in his human form, he was sure his mouth would have been hanging open. The man that was stood before him was pure perfection. His hair was pure black and fell in waves down to his shoulders and his large brown eyes gave away every emotion that flitted through his mind. And don't get him started on those lips, fat and plump which lay just beneath his large crooked nose. He continued to stare at Ren's face. He knew that it was rude to stare, but he couldn't help himself. He truly did have magnificent features. They seemed to work on the other man's face, on anyone else and they would look awkward and possibly abnormal. 

He mentally shook himself as he watched Ren head towards the refresher. He tried to think of something else, like all those reports laying abandoned on his desk back in his quarters. He tried not to imagine what Ren looked like in the nude. If he wasn't careful, he would soon be sporting a boner. And wouldn't that be awkward, especially if Ren found out it was him. But the other man hadn't said a word about the matter, so he assumed that was not the case. 

He had several minutes to himself as Ren showered, so he continued his exploring and was suprised, once again, to find that Ren actually owned real clothing. Casual clothes, not those black drab robes that he took to wearing around the ship just to frighten people. He huffed as he thought about the Knight terrorising his crew. 

He hadn't realised how long he had been standing in the closet doorway until a pair of legs appeared above him and continued on into the small cupboard-like room. Before he could think rationally, he looked up and instantly regretted it. Standing with his chest facing towards him, was a completely nude Ren. The scene before him was burnt into his retinas, so even though he looked away, he could still see the image clearly in his mind. 

He fled from the room and dived beneath the bed. He would never be able to look the man in the eye after this. He would forever have that image in his head. He waited and listened as Ren performed his nightly routine, whatever that was. He was not going to leave his new hiding space anytime soon. Having said that, he squawked in surprise as his hind legs were grabbed by an invisible force and he was forcibly dragged from his hiding spot. He hissed and spat at the other man as he was dropped unceremoniously onto the plush bed. He tried to make his escape, but was stopped when Ren dragged his smaller furrier body back and cuddled him against his chest. He lay still for several minutes, listening as Ren's breathing slowly evened out with sleep. It took him a while longer before he could relax, but when he did, he drifted off to sleep rapidly.


	2. New Discoveries

Hux squirmed beneath the heavy fabric covering his body. He wriggled and clawed his way free and padded onto the pillow before him. He sunk into the eiderdown and stumbled as he lost his footing several times due to its softness. He finally managed to curl up into a ball atop of it. 

The room was still dark, the lights not coming on until commanded to do so. He huffed in frustration. He forgot how infuriating it was to be stuck in his animal form. At least when he was a human he could actually do useful things, such as work on his reports, which must have been steadily building since he had been preoccupied. 

He tried to look around the darkened room, but even with night vision, objects were only just visible. He blinked and turned his attention to the other occupant in the room. 

Ren was stretched out across the bed, hugging one of the pillows to his chest with his arms wrapped tightly around it. Hux would have called it cute if he didn't hate the man so much.  

He stayed like that for several minutes until he realised sleep was evading him. There was no point in laying there waiting for Ren to get up, so he practically climbed out of the pillow, since he had sunk a little way into it, and jumped down from the bed with a heavy thump. He paused with his front paw held in the air, listening in case Ren had woken up from the noise. He tensed up when a rustling sound came from the direction of the bed, but he sighed with relief when the loud snoring carried on. He was still asleep then. He preened happily as he wandered from the bedroom into the living area. 

He thought about taking another look around again, but he had explored the whole of Ren's quarters the previous day. He snickered to himself as he thought about waking Ren up himself. Sitting on his head was an idea, but Ren might startle and throw him across the room with the force. Not such a good idea. So he decided to just sit on the sofa and await for Ren to wake up in his own time. 

He was just starting to get bored when Ren stumbled out of the bedroom. He staggered over to the kitchenette and started preparing a coffee. Hux sighed dreamily as he thought of his morning coffee. But since he was now stuck as a cat, morning coffees were a thing of the past.  

He was surprised when Ren came into the room with two bowls, not one. He watched in astonishment as he put the smaller bowl in front of him on the coffee table. He looked up at Ren and waited until he was pointed to the bowl. 

'Well eat up. I doubt you've eaten anything since yesterday, or maybe even the day before that'. 

Hux continued to look at Ren in trepidation. Was this a joke? Was he going to take the bowl away as soon as he got close enough to see and smell what was in it? He cautiously edged closer to the bowl until he was in front of it. When Ren didn't whip it away, he looked down to see what was in it. Inside the bowl, mixed together, was a combination of tuna and cornflakes. He pulled away with a face of disgust. The only saving grace, was that it was human food. It could have been worse. Ren could have put out a tin of cat food. He gingerly tried some and was surprised to find that the combination wasn't as bad as he first thought it would be. He personally wouldn't put them together again though. 

Once he had eaten it all, he sat down on the coffee table and stared up at Ren. He enjoyed watching the man squirm under his intense gaze. 

'What do you want now? I've given you food'. 

Hux watched with growing interest as Ren continued to get flustered under his cold stare. He finally relented and gracefully jumped down from the coffee table and sashayed over to the main door that lead out into the corridor. He looked back over his shoulder before he plopped down and sat in front of the door. He waited patiently for Ren to get the gist. 

'You are incorrigible'. 

His ears twitched as he heard Ren move towards him to open the door. He ignored the man and just shot between his legs and raced out the door. He only slowed down when he neared the bridge. He hoped Phasma would be there. He needed to be around someone sane and someone who he could trust. 

He was disheartened to find that the Captain was nowhere to be seen on the bridge, so he decided to relax and stretched out on the computer terminal as he watched the crew of the Finaliser work. He was so relaxed that he hadn't noticed that he was nodding off until he was jolted awake by someone running their fingers through his fur. He inwardly groaned. There was only one person who would be so bold to do such a thing. Ren. 

He was unsure whether Ren knew that the cat and General Hux were in fact one in the same, but before he could voice his complaint, Ren switched tactics and started to gently scratch behind his ears. It was in the perfect spot and Hux couldn’t help the purr that started up in the back of his throat and vibrated through his body. He settled back down onto the terminal and closed his eyes, enjoying the massage whilst it lasted. 

He mewed in disappointment when the scratching stopped several minutes later, and it was when he heard Ren chuckling beside him that he leap off the computer terminal and race off the bridge in mortification. He knew that if he were still in his human form, he would have been blushing. He only stopped running when he crashed face first into something solid and silver. He also noticed that he could see himself looking back in the reflection. He didn't even need to look to see who it was. 

'I thought it was you who made the rule of no running in the corridors, sir', Phasma's voice had a slight sarcastic lilt to it. 

He scowled up at her. He didn't like the tone of voice she was using, but unfortunately, he was in no position to tell her so. 

'I was going to go to the cantina, you are welcome to join me, sir'. 

He considered his options seriously. It wasn't like he had many. He could either prowl around the corridors, head back to the training room and sleep in his nest or he could go with the Captain. It was not a difficult decision at all. He certainly wasn't going to go and wait outside Ren's quarters until he found him and let him in.

He hurried after the Captain, who was already a couple of paces ahead of him. He easily caught up with her and had to practically run to keep up with her long strides. Oh how he missed his human legs. 

They continued like this down several more corridors before they arrived at the cantina. Hux lingered next to Phasma as she stood in the ever increasing queue for food. It was quite a relief when she was served. All they had to do now was find a suitable table somewhere quiet. He was just starting to relax as he ate the few tidbits Phasma offered him when a presence behind him made themselves known. 

'Oh my, who's this cutiepie. Isn't she just an adorable little thing'. 

'He', Phasma corrected, even though she sounded like she was trying to contain a laugh.  

'Pardon?'

'The cat. It's a he'. 

'Oh. My apologies', the other woman stood there for a couple of seconds before she muttered out an excuse, 'I should really go back to the others now', she continued meekly before she scurried off. 

'How embarrassing'. 

Hux was inclined to agree. Even though he knew it was impossible, he was sure he could feel his cheeks heating up with anger. How dare she call him a girl! He grumbled quietly as they continued to eat their food in silence. It didn't take long for Phasma to finish her food and then excuse herself, she apparently had an important training exercise to oversee with her stormtroopers. 

Hux resigned himself for another boring day of exploring the ship. By the time he turned back into his human self, he would know the layout of the whole of the Finaliser like the back of his hand. So far, he only knew the command deck, the engineering deck and the quarters that intimately.

A couple of hours later, and he had just about finished watching the crew working on the engineering deck. He had recieved a few raised eyebrows at his presence, but all in all, the engineering crew were too busy working to take much notice of him. 

He decided he had done enough exploring for the day, so he headed back towards the bridge. He only got as far as the command room when he heard a low growling sound from behind him. He turned around cautiously and stumbled backwards, curling himself into a ball as he went, trying to make himself look as small as possible. 

Standing before him was a large rottweiler. Foam seemed to drip from its mouth and it had a half crazed look in its eyes. 

Hux couldn't stop the terrified whimper from escaping his vocal chords. He hunched further into himself and backed himself as far as he could go into the corner of the room. He cursed as his instincts overrode his body and he trembled as he imagined all the gruesome ways he would be torn apart and then eaten.

He was broken from his thoughts when he heard a possessive snarl, followed by the sounds of a fight. Hux looked up just enough to make out that the rottweiler was now fighting against a much large black jaguar. The other cat was massive. Its paws were thick and muscular and its claws were like scythes. 

He watched as the larger feline snarled, its lips pulled back to show an impressive array of sharp white canines. It moved in front of the dog and crouched protectively over Hux's much smaller body as he challenged the other shifter standing only a couple of metres away. 

The other shifter must have known that it wouldn't win the fight, as it gave one last growl before it slunk away into the shadows and disappeared down the corridor. 

Hux waited, unsure whether the other cat had scared the dog away to help him or so that it could eat him itself. He cautiously peeked up at it and found himself gazing into familiar brown eyes. They bore straight into his luminescent green ones. It was then that Hux made the connection. The black feline before him was Ren. Of all the people to rescue him, it had to be him. Hux just knew that Ren would hold this incident over his head for the rest of his miserable life. 

The man’s cat form was huge. Muscles rippled under his sleek black fur as he cautiously crept forwards, trying to make himself look less like the dangerous predator that he was. Hux broke out of his stupor and crouched low as he hissed at the larger feline before he came to his senses and broke out into a run. Before he had even made it to the door, a giant black paw crashed down right in front of his face and he slammed straight into the thick leg. He didn't have enough time to sneak around Ren's leg, before he felt teeth grab at the scruff of his neck and he was being hauled into the air. He scowled as he was carried through the corridors like a naughty kitten and back towards Ren's quarters. He huffed. Why was Ren so infuriating? At least he hadn't been seen by any of the other officers or stormtroopers. 

Ren settled him down on the bed and placed him between his paws. Hux only had time to stand up when there was a wet feeling up his back, fur being dragged the wrong way. He froze and it happened again. And again. And again. What the... Ren was grooming him! Hux tried to escape but was stopped by a paw pinning him in place and the grooming resumed. What the hell did he think he was doing? 

Hux's delicate features scrunched up as he hissed at the much larger feline. His patience was diminishing quickly with the black jaguar. He scowled and bucked beneath the other cat. He only stilled when Ren growled at him as he continued to wriggle about. He hissed back in frustration. How dare he growl at him. He tried to turn around so that he could strike out at the other shifter, but Ren tightened his paws around him to prevent him. 

When Ren considered him clean enough, he released some of the pressure, letting Hux escape from Ren's clutches. He spun around and slashed at the bigger cat's face, but Ren had anticipated the move and had moved away to a safer distance. 

Hux raised his hackles, trying to make himself look bigger and more intimidating, but all he got in response was an odd coughing sound. He hissed and spat in fury. How dare Ren have the gall to laugh at him!

He went to jump off the bed, but Ren stepped in front of him and herded him back towards the pillows. Hux stared up at Ren, challenging him as he puffed up his chest to try and make himself bigger. He looked up in surprise when Ren backed down and lay down on the right side of the bed. 

After he was sure he had asserted his dominance, he stalked over to the pillows and lay down with a frustrated huff. He quirked an eyebrow up at the other cat. He bristled when Ren rolled his eyes.

He curled up and decided to ignore Ren. The man was infuriating, it seemed he was just as annoying in his animal form as he was as a human. 

He shivered as the recycled air cooled during the night cycle.  He squeaked in surprise when he felt Ren scoot closer to him. He looked over his shoulder at the other cat, wary of his motive, but when Ren only wrapped his body around his own, he relaxed into the warmth of his much larger, warmer body. He subconsciously snuggled closer, siphoning from Ren's warmth and slowly relaxed to the point where he quickly fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What Hux and Ren look like - 
> 
> [ Ginger Housecat Hux](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f4/6e/eb/f46eeb29237ee50974714c310f93aac8.jpg)
> 
> [Black Jaguar Ren](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/0e/1d/7b/89/athena-the-black-jaguar.jpg)


	3. Misunderstanding

Hux squirmed beneath the heavy weight that was pressing down along his back. He squirmed until he managed to free himself and stretched leisurely, working the kinks out of his spine. He turned back, looking over towards the other side of the bed and jumped into the air in surprise. Memories of the previous day flashed through his mind as he stared at the large black jaguar lying on its side. Its chest rose and fell in slow succession as it slept, oblivious to the world around it. 

Hux moved closer with caution. He hesitantly approached Ren, sniffing him when he got close enough. He skittered backwards, falling off the edge of the bed with a crash as the larger feline moved in its sleep, rolling onto its other side. He grumbled unhappily and shook his head as he climbed to his feet. He paused as he heard a rustling sound from the bed before Ren hopped down and used his momentum to twist himself around so he was facing him. He skirted around Ren and tried to ignore him as he heard him following him around the bed. He carried on walking through Ren's quarters and leapt up onto the kitchenette counter. He meandered around the objects that were scattered across its surface, wincing when he knocked a couple of spice bottles. He watched as they wobbled precariously but they thankfully stayed upright. 

He peeked down from his place on the counter and looked back at Ren, waiting for him to change back into his human form so that he could cook something for their breakfast. 

He smirked as Ren sighed before he started to shift back into his human form. Hux ducked his head and crossed his paws over his head as Ren stood naked in front of him. He hadn't thought this through. Ren's crown jewels were now pretty much level with his face. 

He waited, his paws still covering his face as he assumed Ren had decided to make himself more presentable. He peeked through his paws and meeped when he noticed that Ren hadn't put any clothes on, let alone bothered to cover himself with a towel. Hux deduced that Ren had taken note of his discomfort and was now openly flaunting his nakedness as he working around the small space. 

When he was sure Ren wasn't looking in his direction, he admired Ren's body. His muscles bunched and relaxed beneath his skin as he moved. He froze when he noticed Ren was watching him, his eyebrow raised with amusement. He turned around and gave Ren a view of his back. 

'You want to watch a film?', Ren asked him as they sat eating their breakfast. 

Hux stopped eating as he thought about the offer before he nodded his head. He tilted his head to the side, hoping to convey his intrigue on what Ren wanted to watch. 

Ren got up once they finished their breakfast, taking both of their plates as he headed towards the kitchenette. Hux licked his fur clean as he waited for Ren to finish washing the dirty plates and come back. He raised an eyebrow as Ren dropped the film he had decided to put on in front of him. He looked up at the other shifter with a look of disbelieve on his face. 

'What? It's a good film', Ren defended. Hux just looked at him with a blank stare. 'Well I enjoy it anyway. Have you even seen it?' When Hux didn't show any indication of replying, Ren just snorted and shook his head, his long black hair swaying with the movement. 'That's what I thought. Don't dis it if you haven't seen it. You don't know what your missing'. 

Hux just looked at the film case with scepticism, but he still moved closer to Ren and snuggled up against his larger warmer body. 

Hux's eyes grew heavy as they watched as Gerard Butler spun and sang with Emmy Rossum on the television screen.  

He jolted upright when Ren slid from his horizontal position to lay vertically on the sofa and then proceeded to drag his smaller body up on top of his chest. Hux nuzzled his furry head under Ren's chin as Ren stroked his back. He wriggled until he was lying on his back with his belly on display. He purred loudly as Ren scratched his soft fuzzy stomach. His purring slowly turned to soft snores as he napped atop Ren's chest. 

He woke up from his peaceful sleep when Ren's comm chirped. His ears twitched as he listened as Ren talked, but after several minutes of listening to one-sided gobbledygook, he relaxed back into sleep. 

'Hux. Hux', he was disturbed from his nap as Ren gently stroked behind his ears and called his name. 'Mitaka wants to have a word on the bridge, so I'll go and have a word with him. You coming or do you want to stay here?' 

He looked back at Ren as he decided before he slid from his position on Ren's chest. His spine cracked and his joints popped as he stretched. He cocked his head as he looked up at Ren in bewilderment. Why was Ren's hand in his face? He squawked in indignation as he was picked up with the force and then settled onto Ren's shoulder. 

'It'll be quicker than you trying to keep up. Don't forget, you've got short legs now'. 

He hissed to show his annoyance at being manhandled, but by that point, Ren was already walking out of the door and into the ship's corridor. He relaxed and let his front paws slip down so that he was lying down on Ren's shoulders. It took no time for them to reach the bridge. 

Hux pawed at the cowl around Ren's neck before he indicated towards the bank of computer terminals lined against the far wall. He nodded his thanks when he stepped from the other man's shoulder and onto the computer, watching with a critical eye as his officers worked with one another like a well oiled machine. 

Ren's eyes narrowed as he spied Thanisson working over by the computer terminals, conversing with the other officers around him. He stalked over to the group and separated Thanisson from the others. 

'You go anywhere near him again, and I will personally rip your organs out of your body. Am I understood?' He smirked menacingly as he recieved a vigorous nod from the petrified man. 'Now get out of my sight'. He watched with satisfaction as the man practically ran away, keeping a wide berth from the terminals where Hux was sat. Ren was still chuckling to himself when he walked back over to Hux, only to wipe the grin off his face when he came face-to-face with Hux. He paused as he took in Hux's expression. Hux looked anything but impressed. 'What? Oh come on. He tried to eat you the other day and I don't get as much as a thank you. I won't help you next time someone tries to eat you'. 

Hux watched as Ren stormed off, his boots stomping heavily on the metal floor. He rolled his eyes as best as he could in his animal form. He swore the other man was like a child. When things didn't go his way, he would have a tantrum, and they were not pretty to witness. 

Hux huffed in annoyance, whilst Ren was having his tantrum, he had left him on the bridge. Hux wasn't sure if it was intentional or not. He arched his back as he stretched before he jumped down from the terminal and headed for the door. 

He was halfway back towards Ren's quarters when he was unexpectedly picked up. He yowled and scratched at the hand that was wrapped around his midsection. He only stopped when the hand lifted him and turned him around so he was looking at his manhandler in the face. He was sure his jaw had dropped, because it was none other than the cocky rebel pilot. What was he doing roaming free on his ship? Hux squirmed furiously as he tried to escape the rebel's grip, but to no success. If anything, the rebel seemed to tighten his grip even more. 

'What is such a cute thing like you doing here? Did the First Order take you from your owner? Hmm? Well, I think you'd prefer it at the rebel base'.

Hux didn't give up trying to escape. He yowled louder, trying to draw attention to them, but it seemed that there was no-one around when you wanted them. He slumped into the hand that was holding him against the other's chest. He watched despondently as they made their way through the corridors. He frowned when they didn't meet a single soul. Something wasn't right. His eyes widened comically when the rebel met up with a couple of his friends. How did they all get onboard his ship without him or anyone else knowing? 

He practically fainted when he saw that the rebel was not alone. He actually had a small group of friends with him. There were three rebels on his ship. If he didn't watch, he would start hyperventilating. 

Hux scowled as the traitor tried to pet his head, so he snapped his teeth as the fingers got closer. He could feel the toothy grin spread across his face as the traitor whipped his hand away. He didn't even care that he looked suspicious or that he was grinning like a maniac. 

He grumbled unhappily as he was squashed against the rebel pilot's chest as the trio headed towards the hanger bay. He yowled loudly as he caught sight of Ren entering the hanger after them. His cries for help were cut off when the shuttle's door closed and he was left alone with the mix-match band of rebels. Great. 

He scowled when he was dropped unceremoniously onto the bench seat, until he was startled by another human sitting down beside him. He peered up at the new person as he curled his tail tightly around his body, trying to make himself look as small as possible. He didn't think the rebels knew that he was in fact General Hux of the First Order. Otherwise he assumed he would have been killed by them by now. 

The journey from the Finaliser to the rebel base on some unknown planet took longer than Hux thought. He was sure the trio of rebels would only have boarded his ship if they were close to it to begin with. As they continued to travel for the foreseeable future, Hux decided it would be best if he caught up with some sleep. And it would certainly pass the time quicker. He was awoken from his nap sometime later when he felt the ship land with a sharp jolt, knocking him into the first aid box lying beside him on the bench. 

He arched his back and hissed at the offending rebel pilot, his lips peeling back from his teeth. He felt his claws slid out as he swiped at the human's hand, daring him to try and pick him up again. He stalked along the bench like a caged animal, snapping and snarling at any of the humans if they got too close. He shrieked as he was pulled off the bench by the scruff of his neck. His limbs dangling uselessly beneath him as his lower body drew itself upwards to make himself smaller. 

'Excellent idea Rey. Why didn't we think of that Poe?'

'Because we're not intelligent like Rey, that's why'. 

Hux watched with interest as the trio walked through the rebel base, weaving their way through the maze of corridors. He scowled when several rebels tried to pet him as they passed. He plotted his escape, deciding on where to hide and who to steer clear of. But all thoughts of escape were shredded when the door to the room they had just entered was closed. He looked around in surprise. He seemed to be in some sort of office, papers were scattered messily around him as he stood on the desk in the centre of the room. He tripped backwards, sending papers flying through the air as his paws slipped and he fell flat on his face. He tried to regain some of his dignity as he rose to his feet, but he glowered as he noticed that he had a post-it-note stuck to the bottom of his left front paw. He shook his paw, trying to dislodge the offending piece of paper, but the thing was glued to his paw. 

He jumped as he heard a musical laugh sound from behind him. He turned and almost collapsed in shock. In front of him was his arch enemy. The General of the Rebellion. And she was laughing at him! He felt his ears flatten against his head in humiliation as he barred his teeth at her.

His thoughts came to a screeching halt when he felt a hand gently scratch the top of his head. He melted against her side as the fingers moved down to the side of his head and massaged behind his ears. He leaned into the touch as the pressure started to decrease. He leapt away from the General when the door to her office opened and a man with greying hair and a shaggy beard walked into the room. 

'Since when do you have a cat?' 

'I don't', at the raised eyebrows she amended, 'I didn't. Poe found it onboard the First Order flagship. Apparently, he thought I could do with a pet. God knows why the First Order had a cat on one of their ships'. She shook her head as she finished speaking. 

'Had you considered the thought that it might be a shifter?' 

At the horrified face she pulled, she hadn't. 'I hadn't thought of it like that'. 

The man frowned and walked over to her. 'We don't even know if it is', he tried to comfort her as he rubbed her arms. She turned away as she tried to compose herself. Whilst she was turned away, the man walked over to desk where Hux was sitting, 'I will admit, he seems rather small for a shifter. But it is possible. We could get him checked out by one of the medics'. A purr rumbled out of his chest when the man tickled beneath his chin. 

'Him?'

'Uh. Well, I don't actually know. It just looks like a him to me'. 

She shook her head in affection. 'Your logic isn't very good. It's like that time when you thought Ben was a girl for a whole week until you had to change his diapers. I bet that was a bit of a shock'. 

'Just a bit', the man chuckled. 

'Oh Han. I miss him so much'. 

'I know. I miss him too'. They stood together in the middle of the room as they hugged each other. 'Come on. We really should get it seen to. Find out what it's gender is and then whether it's a shifter too'. 

Leia nodded, but she didn't show any signs of moving from the hug the two of them had initiated. After a couple of minutes, she pulled away from the scruffy looking man and straightened her clothing. 

'Let's get this over with then'. She hefted Hux into her arms and craddled him against her chest as she moved across the room and opened the office door. He watched with fascination from the safety of the General's arms as the rebels they encountered greeted their General with both respect and fondness. It was an interesting sight to witness. Before long, they arrived at the medbay, and the strong smell of anesthetic played havoc with his sensitive nose. He sneezed thrice as he tried to expel the pungent odour.  

'What can I do for you General?', the medic inquired as she made her way over to them. 

'We need you to look the cat over. Find out what it's gender is and we need you to confirm a suspicion we have'. 

'Right. Let's have a look at you then'. The medic wrapped her hands around Hux as the two women exchanged him between them. She lay him down on the counter before she grabbed a couple of packs of syringes. She scattered the packages on the counter and grabbed one, ripping open the paper which kept the needle clean before she approached him. Hux winced at the sharp pain as the needle was plunged into his skin. He hissed as his back legs were spread so that the medic could take a closer look at his genitalia. 

'Well. It's male', she informed the two awaiting for her verdict. Hux watched from the corner of his eye as Han made a "I told you" so gesture. They had to wait a further ten minutes for his blood tests to come back, but finally, the medic walked back into the room with a contemplative look on her face. 'It's odd. It's a cat and yet it has the blood work of a human'. 

'It's a shifter then', Leia confirmed as she looked down at Hux. 'Who are you? Hmm?', she asked rhetorically, since he couldn't answer. 

'Whoever they are, they work for the First Order. They could be dangerous. We need to have a plan together for when they shift back. They may even be willing to give us some information'.

What was going to happen to him now? What if he shifted back into his human form whilst he was here? Would he be executed on sight or would he be held prisoner? He whimpered at the thought. Where was Ren when you needed him? Don't get him wrong, he was a proud man when he was a human, but when things don't go your way and you end up in the unknown, anything can happen.

He was swept up into the general's arms before the two humans left the medbay with a "thank you" thrown over their shoulders at the medic. 

'I should go and make plans with the other commanders'. 

'Go. I'll take him back to your room. I'll wait for you there. See you later'. They departed after they shared a quick kiss. 

She entered the command room and a nostalgic smiled spread across her face as she watched as the other commanders worked in organised chaos. She headed over to the group of commanders. 'I want plans made. The cat we have with us on base is a shifter. We don't know if he's too scared to shift back or whether he's stress-shifted. We don't know if he'll give us information or if he has a more dangerous agenda. So I want plans made yesterday. Have a cell made, just in case he turns out to be dangerous. For now, he'll be staying me in my rooms'. 

'General, do you think that's a wise idea? As you said, we don't know who it is. It could be an assassin sent to kill you in your sleep'. 

'Thank you for your concern Commander, but if I remember correctly, you were the one who picked him up from the First Order's clutches'. Poe's cheeks pinked as she raised an eyebrow at him. 

'Eh. What can I say? He looked cute'. 

'You can't just pick up every creature you come across. For all you knew, he could have had an owner there. You should have thought before you randomly picked him up'. 

Leia turned on her heel as Poe grumbled his affirmation. She continued until she entered her shared quarters with Han. She leant against the closed door and gazed around the living room. She pushed off from the door and shimmied her jacket from her shoulders. She let it slip from her fingers and watched as it fell onto the back of the sofa. She stretched the kinks out of her spine and groaned as rough calloused hands massaged between her shoulder blades. 

'Hello handsome'. 

'Princess, or would you rather General?'. 

'Shut up and kiss me, you scruffy looking nerfherder'. 

'Yes ma'am', he murmured before he leaned down and kissed her as they stumbled towards the bed.  

Hux buried his head into the soft fabric of the sofa, trying his hardest to ignore the two humans in the bedroom. It just wasn't his week. He'd seen Ren's crown jewels, been unintentionally kidnapped by the Rebellion and now he had to listen to the two humans he was forced to stay with reunite with each other. He crossed his paws over his head to try and dampen the sound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can anyone guess what film they watched?


End file.
